Abstract
It is well-known that the clinical outcomes are different between type 1 (estrogen dependent) and type 2 (estrogen independent) endometrial cancer. Studies have suggested that the estrogen receptor (ER) is positively correlated with endometrial cancer survival, however we previously reported that there is no difference in the positivity of ER as well as sex hormone levels between subtypes of cancer. G-protein-coupled receptor-30 (GPR 30), an alternative estrogen receptor has been suggested to be negatively correlated with clinical outcomes of endometrial cancer. In this study we investigated whether the positivity of GPR30 is different between subtypes of cancer. The immunostaining of GPR30 and ER was examined and analysed in 128 cases taking into account menopausal status. Overall, 105 (82%) cases were GPR30 positive and 118 (92%) cases were ER positive. The positivity of GPR30 in type 1 endometrial cancer (83%) was not statistically different to type 2 endometrial cancer (78%). In addition, intensity of immunostaining of GPR30 in type 1 endometrial cancer was also not different to type 2 endometrial cancer quantified by semi-quantitative analysis (p = 0.268). Menopausal status was not associated with the positivity of GPR30 in both type 1 and type 2 endometrial cancer. Furthermore, the positivity and intensity of immunostaining of GPR30 were not correlated with the positivity and intensity of immunostaining of ER in endometrial cancer (p = 0.689). Our data further confirm that type 2 endometrial cancer may not be completely estrogen independent, and suggest that type 1 and type 2 endometrial cancer may have similar pathogenesis.
Highlights
Endometrial cancer has recently been a major gynaecological cancer in developed countries and causes more than 10,000 deaths in the United States yearly (American Cancer Society: Cancer Facts and Figures 2016)
Studies have suggested that the estrogen receptor (ER) is positively correlated with endometrial cancer survival, we previously reported that there is no difference in the positivity of ER as well as sex hormone levels between subtypes of cancer
Type 1 endometrial cancer has a better survival rate with treatment, while type 2 has a poorer prognosis with an aggressive form of the disease [2], our recent studies have found that there is no difference in the positivity of ER or progesterone receptor (PR) as well as the sex hormone levels between type 1 and type 2 endometrial cancer [6, 7]
Summary
Endometrial cancer has recently been a major gynaecological cancer in developed countries and causes more than 10,000 deaths in the United States yearly (American Cancer Society: Cancer Facts and Figures 2016). It is well documented that the positivity of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) is positively associated with the prognosis of endometrial cancer, including the survival rate and survival time [4, 5]. A study has hypothesised that type 2 endometrial cancer may not be completely estrogen-independent because both type 1 and type 2 endometrial cancer share many common risk factors [8]. This suggests that another factor(s) may be involved in causing the difference in clinical outcomes between type 1 and type 2 endometrial cancer
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